BUCKEYES ‘HUNGRY,’ AZTECS APPETIZING

Aztecs at No. 3 Ohio St.

Today: 12:30 p.m. at Ohio Stadium

On the air: Ch. 10; 1090-AM

Rocky Long isn’t at New Mexico anymore. Urban Meyer, for darn sure, isn’t at Utah anymore.

Perspective can be about as difficult to come by in college football as candor. But at least Meyer isn’t trying try to kid anybody by painting San Diego State as the next coming, though the Aztecs are the next team to come into the “Horseshoe” at Ohio State.

How’s this for perspective? For the Aztecs’ visit today, Ohio Stadium is certain to be filled yet again to its capacity of 102,000-plus, a single-game count that’s roughly just 40,000 shy of the total number of fans who actually attended San Diego State’s seven home games in 2012.

Of course, that was before the Aztecs lost at Qualcomm Stadium to Football Championship Subdivision member Eastern Illinois by three touchdowns last Saturday. After that, even a sweet-talking super-coach like Meyer wouldn’t blow the kind of smoke that would suggest the Aztecs are a serious threat to the Buckeyes’ 13-game winning streak, presently the longest in the nation.

Meyer did, however, express his respect with reference to his own experience in the Mountain West Conference. The only MW game he lost in two years at Utah was to New Mexico.

“I coached against Rocky Long before,” said Meyer, who did guide the Utes to a BCS bowl-game win and unbeaten record (2004) before leading Florida to a couple of national championships. “He’s an excellent football coach, tough, and his guys play real hard. They won nine games last year, which is not surprising for his teams.”

The one game the Buckeyes already have won this season — a 40-20 rout of Buffalo — means more in the big picture than all 12 of their triumphs in 2012. Even an undefeated record couldn’t get Ohio State a berth in the Big Ten championship game, let alone a bowl game, because of NCAA sanctions.

Clearly looking to make up for lost opportunities, the Buckeyes are ranked second or third in the country, depending on the poll.

“Some people think we’re the hunted. I don’t feel that way at all,” Meyer said in the most recent Big Ten conference call. “We’re the hunter. Everybody wants an angry football team. Everybody wants a team on edge and a hungry team.

“If you’re the hunter, that usually equates to being hungry. If you’re the king of the hill, then you battle that word — complacency.”

That being the oft-repeated theme in Columbus, then, the Aztecs can’t even hope to catch the Buckeyes looking past them. As if the Aztecs didn’t have enough to deal with in Braxton Miller, possibly the best quarterback in the country, already deemed a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, and the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

While the Aztecs were allowing the unheralded Jimmy Garoppolo to complete 31-of-46 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns last Saturday, Miller was hitting 15-of-22 for 178 yards and two touchdowns, but also rushing for 77 yards. Miller was sidelined with cramps on the sort of wicked-hot day in the Shoe that the Aztecs can fully expect today.